Non-stick grilling for Michelle Obama on ‘View’

Flash!

Michelle Obama does not wear pantyhose. She's tall, they rip, and "it feels better" to go without them.

This and other earth-shaking chit-chat highlighted ABC's The View this morning, as the would-be first lady underwent grilling – low heat, non-stick pan – from Barbara Walters and the show's regular hosts.

No pantyhose, and no slips, either, in Obama's appearance, designed by the presidential campaign, if not the show itself, to humanize a hard image of the candidate's wife that has been nurtured by conservative entertainers and pundits.

"In this media age, where the Internet is so pervasive, and there are 24-hour newscasts, it's sort of like I fill up some space," she said, in response to a Walters' question, "What do you think it is that is causing ... these attacks?"

She'll be filling up some more space for at least a day or two after The View, even though Cindy McCain made a similar appearance April 28 that was all but ignored.

During this morning's lovefest, Obama compared parenting notes with host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who holds down the right wing on the show, responded humbly when African American Sherri Shepherd told her she looked gorgeous, and had kind words for Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.

In a late diet segment ("We're blowing the lid off breakfast!" The View promo promised), Obama revealed that bacon was the main protein in her morning meal.

And when the discussion turned to Matthew Broderick's new movie Finding Amanda, set in Las Vegas, Obama revealed that her mother had won $17,000 on a quarter slot machine.

"You know what that 25 cents is?" quipped host Joy Behar. "Change we can believe in."